“That's good,” Jack said, chuckling. “It's always nice to have someone in your corner.” He reached over and placed a hand on her bare thigh, rubbing his palm back and forth along her soft, silky orange fur. “I believe in you,
se le ch'aa ara
.”
Aria made a small growl of amusement. “You accent need work,” she told him. “But...mine, too,” she allowed a moment later. The Ailian looked down at the floor, her tail tip twitching slightly. She was quiet for a long time, and Jack watched her carefully. Her face was half hidden from him, turned at an angle away from his view. When she spoke again, her voice was quieter than normal. “I almost not want come to bed tonight...”
“Why not?” Jack asked her, his eyebrows raising slightly.
“Because...Because I...Oh, Jack...” Without warning she covered her face with her hands, and in seconds she was sobbing uncontrollably. Her shoulders shook as she cried, tears streaking down her face into her palms.
Jack was taken aback completely, not having expected this at all. He got up from where he was on the bed and moved to Aria's side, placing a hand on her shoulder. He rocked back as she lashed out, shoving him away from her.
“Not look at me...,” she pleaded through her tears. “Not look at me...Not want you to see this...”
“Don't push me away, Aria,” Jack said, gently but firmly. He put his arm around her shoulders, gripping her as tightly as he could. She relented, turning and melting against him, her soft, furry body pressing against him. Jack needed all of his strength to hold her much larger form up, but he managed. Aria buried her muzzle in his neck, her tears wetting his skin as her body trembled.
“Not want to die, Jack,” she sobbed, her voice muffled against him. “I...I so scared...Not know what to do...Please...Please hold me...”
Jack felt his heart wrench as the woman he loved cried so pitifully in his arms. Though he had seen Aria shed tears before, he had never seen her cry like this. And he was certain that she had never, ever admitted to being scared of death. Aria had faced death bravely many times, and had even gone running headlong towards it. Now she was baring her soul to him, confessing that she was afraid to leave this world.
So he just did what she wanted of him, and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her close. His hands rubbed up and down along her back, letting her get everything out. Jack wanted to cry himself, but right now Aria needed him to be strong for her.
“I sorry...,” she said, once she managed to get herself under control. Aria pushed herself away from him, not harshly, with one hand on his chest. “Is shameful.”
“You've got nothing to be ashamed about,” Jack told her. He put a hand on her cheek, wiping away the moisture there. “Aria, you put too much emphasis on your personal honor and pride. It's not shameful to cry when you're facing a death sentence, or after what you put yourself through recently. You have every right to cry.”
Aria sniffed, wiping her face with her both hands. She took several deep, shuddering breaths, closing her eyes for a few moments. “You right.” With another deep breath, she forced a small smile. “You stronger than me, Jack. Always have been.”
“No, I'm not stronger,” Jack said. He reached around, placing a hand at the back of her neck. “I just took the strength you gave me, and now I'm trying to pay it back.” Jack kissed her then, pressing his lips to her muzzle as he drew her head towards him.
Aria made a small whimper in the back of her throat, and she leaned into him. Jack allowed himself to be pushed over, and he fell back against the bed with the Ailian coming down atop him. She came down on her elbows, and he heard and felt a muffled growl of pain as she put pressure on her weakened forearms. Her feline tongue slipped between his lips, the roughness tickling the inside of his mouth as she tangled it with his own. Her breath was warm against his face, the dampness from her tears smearing onto his skin. Jack felt her tail curling its way around his legs as her fur rubbed against him. Their closeness banished away some of the heartache they had built up over the preceding weeks. When Aria broke their kiss, she looked down at him, her yellow-gold eyes gazing deeply into his dark blue ones.
“I love you,” Aria whispered. She bent her head down, rubbing her cheek tenderly against his. “No matter what, I love you.”
“I know.” Jack stroked his hands down her sides, moving them underneath to her belly and back up to her breasts, feeling the feathery cream fur there. “I love you, too.”
Aria's face broke into a wide smile, the first real, genuine smile he had seen since she had woken up in the hospital. Then she winced, her body dropping slightly as her injured arms began to give out.
“Ala ra'sh te'la...,”
she hissed quietly. “My arms...”
“Poor girl,” Jack said, teasing her a little. He was rewarded with a flash of the old fire in her eyes. Jack wrapped an arm around her body, and rolled her over, coming down on top of her. She gazed up at him, her eyes half-lidded as desire was evident on her face. Jack looked down at her with the same desire, his gaze traveling up and down her form. Aria was the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen in his entire life. “You just let me take care of everything this time.”
For an answer, Aria brought her hands behind her head, underneath the pillow. She flicked her tongue out between her lips, watching him carefully. Jack grinned at her, holding her gaze. She seemed to have an air of defiance about her face, as though challenging him.
Well, Aria, we'll see about that...
Jack slid down her body, placing his hands on top of her knees and pushing them apart, wide enough for him to settle down on the bed between her thighs. As always, he found himself feeling overwhelmed by how much taller she was than him. And he loved her luxurious coat of orange-and-black-striped fur. He found it an incredibly alluring feature. Especially when they slept, and she curled around him, enveloping his body in her soft, furred arms and legs. She had soft fur all over, but the softest was...
“Ka're...,”
Aria hissed softly, her eyes closing to bare slits as she felt his fingers brushing her sex. His fingertips moved slowly and teasingly, eliciting a shiver up and down her spine as an electric tingle of pleasure washed over her. She spread her legs wider for him, giving him unquestioned access to her treasure. Her hiss turned quickly to a sharp moan as he pressed his advantage.
“So ready so soon?” Jack asked her. He snickered as he saw the insides of her ears turn pink. She'd never heard him talk dirty before, though she had done so towards him many a time. Seemed as though she wasn't used to the shoe being on the other foot. “You must really want it.”
“Not tease me,” she growled at him, her voice taking on a dangerous tone.
“Oh, and what are you going to do about it?” Jack inquired. He pushed his fingers particularly deep, making her back arch up and a sharp mewl issue from her mouth. She glared at the human, her breasts heaving as she fought to catch her breath. “You couldn't hurt a flea with your arms the way they are right now. I'm perfectly safe.”
Aria whined softly. “Not make me beg...”
“Beg? Mm, now there's an interesting idea.” Jack shuffled his way down her body, pressing a kiss to her soft petals. He slipped his tongue between her nether lips, savoring the taste of her alien flavor. He listened to the purr starting to rumble in her core, the vibrations traveling through her body and to his tongue. Jack kept one hand up on her furry belly, rubbing in a soft slow circle as he saw to her need. Aria was whimpering now, her hips rising to meet his kisses. “I could definitely make you beg, I think.”
“Jack, please...”
Jack came up to his knees, letting her see just how aroused he was. He saw her eyes latch onto the target she wanted. The hunger in the Ailian's eyes was blatantly predatory, like a starving cheetah staring down an antelope. “Lucky for you, Aria, that I need you right now just as badly as you need me.” He moved forward, lowering himself on top of her, his belly coming into contact with hers as he nestled his face in between her breasts.
“Yesssss...,” Aria hissed, her legs wrapping around his back. She let out a pleasured sigh, all of her breath escaping her lungs as they joined. Her human lover fit so perfectly, as though he were made for her, different species though they were. As Jack began to move, her arms came from behind her head. She crossed them over his shoulders, hugging him to her as tightly as she could manage. Jack moaned deeply, his voice muffled by her thick, fluffy belly fur.
They rocked against each other, making love slowly at first as they reacquainted each other with the feel of their bodies. Aria kept her legs wrapped about him, preventing him from going very far for long. As they grew more comfortable, their lovemaking sped up, building and building. They began to feel like they were reliving the first time, that wonderful, strange mating in the tent, so soon after they had first met.
Aria leaned her head down, licking the top of Jack's head lovingly. He looked up at her, a slightly sloppy grin on his face. She managed to laugh weakly at him, her mirth overcome by a moan of pleasure. Her sensitive feline nose twitched, her senses flooded with the scent of sex that was filling her bedroom. The mixture of his human musk and her pheromones was like an intoxicant, making her head spin and her vision go fuzzy. This was the proper order of the world. This was what was truly right, her duty be damned. And she knew that Jack felt exactly the same way.
“Jack!” Aria gasped. She squeezed her legs around him tightly, clamping her jaws down on the scream that threatened to escape her and wake the whole household. The Ailian squeezed her eyes tightly, her body shaking and shivering. Faintly, she heard Jack's own groan of bliss as he joined her, warmth spilling deep into her body as his alien seed flooded her womb. She held him within her, feverishly murmuring nearly unintelligible phrases in Ailian.
******
When Jack awoke some hours later, he was curled up next to Aria, having moved sometime in his sleep. His upper body was resting on her chest, her tail curled up around his shoulders as she stroked his sandy blonde hair lightly with one hand. The Ailian was purring deeply, the sound resonating through both of their forms as they rested together. Her tail tip was waving back and forth. The fuzzy tail was tickling his chin, but he wasn't interested in the least in moving away from her.
“So nice...,” Aria sighed. She tilted her head down to kiss his forehead. Jack looked up into her eyes, and he saw tears shining there again. “If this the last night...Was a good night.”
“Don't talk like that, Aria,” Jack said. He reached up a hand and thumbed the tears from her eyes. “It's going to be alright, it's...” He felt his own throat close up, his voice failing him.
“Shhh.” Aria kissed him on the lips tenderly. “Just sleep. Is late. You need you sleep.” She placed her hand on top of his head, hugging him to her breast. Jack eventually fell asleep with her words whispering in his ear.
“Se le ch'aa ara.”
******
The next morning seemed almost unreal. Aria and Jack both woke up, still tangled in each others' arms, with sunlight streaming in through Aria's bedroom window playing along their bodies. Reluctantly, her heart heavy, Aria extracted herself from Jack and went to her bathroom to wash up. After all, it wouldn't do to show up to her treason trial reeking of human. While she prepared herself, Jack returned to his guest quarters and did much the same thing, dressing himself in the nicest clothes that he could manage to gather from what Aria's family had provided him. When he felt reasonably presentable, he walked down from the guest house to the main building, to the dining room for breakfast.
The mood around the table was all gloom and doom. None of Aria's family members seemed to feel much like eating. Sami had prepared a wonderful breakfast, but most of it sat untouched. A few feeble attempts at conversation were made, but they all trailed off quickly. Jack managed to eat a little bit, but he felt sick. He didn't want to think about what was coming later that morning.
Aria joined the family when breakfast was already almost over, resplendent in a dress uniform of black with red trim. Her rank insignia and battle decorations were absent, as she wasn't permitted to wear them while she was facing charges. She sat next to Jack, staring at the tabletop. Jack reached over and clasped her hand underneath the table. She looked over at him, tried to smile, and failed.
All too soon, it was time for them all to depart. A small military convoy came to the estate. From the moment she left home now, until the end of her trial, Aria would be a prisoner in custody. She took time to say goodbye to her family members, with more than a few tears shed by all. Sami was the worst of all. She wrapped her sister in a hug and didn't want to let her go, and Aria finally had to forcefully pull herself from the younger Ailian's grasp. Then two soldiers came up to her, clasped her hands in cuffs, and led her down to the waiting vehicles. As they drove away, Jack watched after them, wondering if he'd ever be able to hold her again.
******
The courtroom turned out to be a little different from what Jack had been expecting when he'd pictured an Ailian court. He thought it would be much like a courtroom on Earth or a human colony world, but this was not the case. The room was set up like a large amphitheater. On the lowest level were ten rows of seats, level with each other, arranged in a semicircle. In front of the lower level of seats, in the center of the room on a raised platform, was a table with two seats. Opposite this table, forming the other half of the semicircle, were two shorter rows of seats, raised up higher than all the rest.